Sara Gilbert

Sara Gilbert
Born	Sara Rebecca Abeles January 29, 1975 (1975-01-29) (age 34) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Allison Adler (2002-present) 2 children

Sara Gilbert (born January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner-Healy from 1988–1997 in the U.S. sitcom Roseanne.

Early life

Gilbert was born Sara Rebecca Abeles in Santa Monica, California. Her parents are Barbara Crane (née Cowan) and Harold Abeles. Her two older adopted half-siblings, Melissa Gilbert and Jonathan Gilbert, were stars of Little House on the Prairie. Melissa and Jonathan were adopted by Barbara and her first husband Paul Gilbert (born Paul MacMahon); Paul died in 1975. Abeles changed her surname to Gilbert to become an actress in 1984.

Television career

Gilbert decided at age six that she wanted to be an actress after her older sister, Melissa Gilbert, got a plaque on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[1] Following appearances in television movies and a commercial for Kool Aid, at the age of thirteen she landed the role of Darlene Conner, the sarcastic middle child, in Roseanne. Sara was a cast member during the show's nine-year run from 1988 to 1997, for which she also wrote a fourth-season episode called "Don't Make Me Over". Sara's contribution was considered so important to Roseanne that the show's producers juggled storylines and taping schedules to allow her to study at Yale University while remaining part of the cast, shooting remote segments of Darlene at a soundstage in New York.^[2] At Yale, she majored in art with an emphasis on photography; she graduated with honors in 1997.

Gilbert has made guest appearances on shows such as The Simpsons, 24, Will & Grace, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Since 2004, she has had a recurring role as medical student Jane Figler on the long-running hospital drama ER.

She returned to prime time television in the fall of 2005 in the sitcom Twins on The WB network. The sitcom was canceled after one season, when the WB and UPN networks merged to become The CW and had to drop a number of shows. She also had a recurring role on the short-lived CBS sitcom The Class as Fern Velch, wife of Ritchie Velch.

Since 2007 she appeared in many episodes in The Big Bang Theory on CBS as Leslie Winkle a scientist friend (with benefits) to the character played by Johnny Galecki, who also portrayed her longtime boyfriend and husband David Healy on Roseanne. Starting with the second episode of the second season of The Big Bang Theory, Gilbert was elevated to the show's main cast, portraying once again a potential love interest of Galecki's character. At the end of January, it was announced that the writers didn't know how to write for her character full time and her status was, once again, reduced from regular to recurring.^[3]

Film career

Gilbert has appeared in two films alongside Drew Barrymore, in Poison Ivy in 1992 and Riding In Cars With Boys in 2001. She has had several other minor roles following Roseanne, including short film $30 (aka 30 Bucks) as part of the Boys Life 3 feature, and High Fidelity. She directed her own short film Persona Non Grata in 1998.

Personal life

In her teens, Gilbert became a vegetarian. Today, she supports numerous organizations such as PETA, Meals on Wheels, Freedom of Speech, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and AIDS Project Los Angeles. She stated on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in November 2008 that she has adopted a vegan lifestyle.

She has been in a relationship with Allison Adler since 2002. They have a son, Levi Hank, born in October 2004^[4] and a daughter, Sawyer, born on August 2, 2007.^[5] Adler was the birth mother for Levi and Gilbert was the birth mother for Sawyer.^[6]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Emmy Award

• 1993: Nominated, "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series" - Roseanne
• 1994: Nominated, "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series" - Roseanne

Independent Spirit Award

• 1993: Nominated, "Best Supporting Female" - Poison Ivy

TV Land Award

• 2006: Nominated, "Character Most Desperately in Need of a Timeout" - Roseanne
• 2008: Won, "Innovator Award" - Roseanne

Young Artist Award

• 1990: Nominated, "Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series" - Roseanne
• 1991: Won, "Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series" - Roseanne
• 1991: Won, "Best Young Actress in a Cable Special" - Sudie and Simpson
• 1992: Won, "Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series" - Roseanne
• 1993: Won, "Outstanding Young Comedienne in a Television Series" - Roseanne

References

External links

• Sara Gilbert at the Internet Movie Database
• Sara Gilbert at the Internet off-Broadway Database
• Sara Gilbert at TV.com